Pushing your kids... - digg this
Masi Oka who plays Hiro was interviewed by SuperHero Hype a while back (full text here) and they just ran it last week due to his popularity. It's nice that he seems to be just as much a full on manga geek as his character is. He also credits the fact that he got the part to his family's insistence on being in touch with his Japanese heritage. He was born in Japan, but moved to the States when he was six. Since Hiro has spent most of the first few episodes speaking Japanese the actor had to be fluent.
As a parent it's difficult to know how hard to push your kids. You never know what sort of effect that will have. If they hadn't required that he attend school every Saturday to study his culture the part would have probably gone to another actor. One day I anticipate that my oldest daughter will take piano lessons. I also anticipate that she will hit a point where she will hate them. It will be my responsibility to either let her stop or to urge her to continue.
Even if she doesn't ever become a concert pianist I think that the skill of playig an instrument can seriously enrich your life, so I would push her. Of course there's always the possibility of a backlash. Knowing just how hard to nudge your kids on stuff like this is one of the many parts of being a parent that keeps me awake at night.
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Expectations for our children are good for some things but not others. When I think about ...
Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it. (Proverbs 22:6)
... I think about praying for the wisdom to know 'the way they should go'. I think this is the artistry of parenthood ... knowing your child well enough to know how God has wired them ... what He has put inside of them. Sometimes it is want we want but often it is different because they are uniquely different.